The corporate social responsibility (CSR) of large mines to local communities with a thrust to addressing sustainable development goals (SDGs) is a subject that has gained momentum in the past decade. However, there has been limited research on this subject in the context of Namibia (Global Mining, 2012). Given the depleting nature of the mining and minerals industry, companies in the sector have been called upon to actively take steps to ensure that the livelihoods of communities dependent on their operations continue to thrive and operate post mine closure (Davidson, 2016). Mining activities can have both positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts on communities. They can provide employment and business opportunities to local communities and may provide the opportunity to remediate legacy sites (IAEA, 2010). Mining is responsible for between 10 and 13 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, and nearly half of all foreign exchange income (Chamber of Mines, 2018). Over the past decade, sustainable development has taken centre stage in policy debates, and has become even more critical in this arena since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by United Nations (UN) member states in September 2015 (Davidson, 2016). Adding weight to the recent focus on mining operations and sustainable development is the sad reality that historically, mining companies in Africa generally do not have a convincing track record of responsible and sustainable mining approaches, leaving future generations and governments with unrehabilitated and orphaned mining sites as well as revenue gaps to fill. Mineral resources have also been the source of many conflicts in African countries, hindering the maximisation of economic benefit from these endowments and thus contributing very little to poverty eradication. The question then arises: how can mining companies in Namibia contribute to sustainable development? This study investigates the progress made by mining companies in fulfilling their role in society's transition to sustainability through environmental stewardship and CSR. This study also sought to analyse the progress made by mining companies in Namibia in contributing to the sustainable development goals, and these contributions were benchmarked with similar companies across the globe.
展开▼
